Losing Grip
by Riana Mustang
Summary: Ryou has been hurt during Battle City, and Aisling's not taking things too well. Will everything work out in the end, or will she lose him forever? Pairing: RyouAisling. Contains spoilers, for both Battle City, and a fic I'm going to post soon. Ch.3 up!
1. Heartbroken Angels

Losing Grip  
  
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba  
  
(Aisling): *Sings* Guess who's back? Back again? Aisling's back! Tell a friend!!!  
  
(Iris): Okay, hikari. No more sugar for you. What are you doing up, anyway? You should be resting and trying to get rid of your cold, not making it worse.  
  
(Aisling): NOOOOOO!!!! Wait. What about caffeine? Besides, yami, it's boring downstairs.  
  
(Seto): NO! No sugar or caffeine!  
  
(Aisling): You're such a spoilsport, big brother. *Sticks tongue out at him* Well, anyway, I'm back with another fic! Yeah, I know, I still haven't finished any of my other ones, and I'm posting a new one. Bad hikari. *Cat grin*  
  
(Malik): *Playing with my hair again* Do we get to be in this one?   
  
(Aisling): One, Malik-kun, you are. Marik is mentioned, but other than that, no. And would you please stop messing with my hair?   
  
(Malik): No, besides, can I help it if you remind me of a cat?  
  
(Aisling): Ummm, okay. Still, you might want to quit before Ryou gets angry. Remember last time?  
  
*Just then Ryou comes over and sees this*  
  
(Ryou): MALIK ISHTAR!!!!!!!!!!  
  
(Aisling): See? I warned you.  
  
*Ryou comes over and glomps Aisling*   
  
(Ryou): Back off, Malik. She's my angel-cat, not yours.  
  
(Aisling): Okay, possessive Ryou=scary Ryou. But hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, on with the fic whilst I try to keep my bishies from killing each other. But first, someone say the disclaimer for me.  
  
(Duke): Aisling does not own YGO, but any original characters and the M.Star are hers. And the song in ch. 3 does not belong to her either. It belongs to Trisha Yearwood.  
  
(Aisling): ACK! I didn't mean you, Dice-boy. Oh, well. Like the moron said, I no own, so piss off. And now, on with the fic, for real this time!  
  
Slight spoilers, a few choice words, the usual. *Grin*  
  
Pairings: Ryou/Aisling  
  
*******************************  
  
*Chapter one*  
  
("We're Kaibas. We were destined to suffer." ~Aisling Kaiba)  
  
The Battle City tournament had finally come to an end.  
  
But that meant absolutely nothing to Aisling Kaiba. The moment that the airship had landed on solid ground again, and Ryou had been taken to the hospital for his injuries, she had practically run back to the mansion. And that's where she was now, having locked herself in her bedroom, crying her heart out and refusing to come out or speak to anyone.  
  
Her little brother Mokuba sat on the floor in the hallway, occasionally tapping lightly on the door in the hopes of drawing her out, and listening to her heartbroken cries. He wished desperately that he could help her, but there was nothing that he could do as long as he was being kept out.   
  
"Why are you sitting on the floor, Mokuba?" a soft voice came from behind the boy.  
  
He jumped slightly, then glanced back over his shoulder at his older brother. He stood up and ran to Seto, practically flying into the CEO's arms, almost knocking them both over in the process. He buried his face in Seto's shirt, trying not to cry himself. Seto held him, wondering what was wrong. He glanced over at Aisling's door, having heard her devastated crying, then looked back down at his little brother.  
  
"Mokuba?" Seto said quietly.  
  
The younger boy looked up at Seto, but not before brushing away a few stray, tell-tale tears of his own. Seto noticed it, though, and knelt down so that he was at eye-level with Mokuba, moving his hand in a circular pattern on his back, trying to comfort him. (A/N: Get your minds out of the gutters, ppl!)  
  
"What's wrong with Aisling, big brother? She's been in there for a long time, crying, and she won't come out or talk to me," Mokuba said.   
  
"Ryou was hurt earlier and is in the hospital. We don't know if he's going to make it," Seto replied sadly.  
  
Mokuba stared at Seto, his big, gray eyes having gone very wide with shock. His eyes searched his older brother's face, hoping that he was not serious.  
  
"I'm going down to the hospital in a few minutes, as soon as I talk to Aisling. I'm sure she'll want to be there too," Seto said quietly.  
  
"Big brother? Can I go with you, too?" Mokuba asked.  
  
Seto nodded and stood up. He let go of his hold on Mokuba and knocked lightly on Aisling's door. He got no response.  
  
"Aisling?" he called quietly, knocking on the door again.  
  
This time he got a response, but it was not the one that he had been hoping for. Her voice was muffled through the door, but he could still detect the pain and bitterness in her tone. He cringed inwardly, though he didn't let Mokuba see it.  
  
"Go away, Seto! I really don't want to see you right now!" Aisling shouted back.  
  
"Aisling, please. Open the door, I need to talk to you," Seto replied.  
  
"I don't care! Just leave me alone!" she retorted. "There's nothing to talk about!"  
  
She waited for Seto to ask her to open the door again, but all she heard was silence. Her ears perked up, and she lifted her head from her arms, wondering if Seto had finally decided to take a hint. She sighed and stared out the window at the stars that sparkled brilliantly in the sky overheard like rare diamonds woven into a beautiful, never-ending tapestry of the finest black velvet.  
  
She found herself wishing with all of her heart that Ryou was there next to her rather than lying in a hospital bed, possibly dying for all anyone knew. She admitted to herself that she probably shouldn't have run out of the hospital like she had, but it was tearing her apart to see him hooked up to those machines. It had just been to much for her to bear.  
  
They had both been through so much shit together in the last few months that it wasn't even funny. Didn't they deserve even just a little bit of happiness? She started to cry harder, cursing fate for all of this. She didn't even bother to wipe away her tears, though, because more would just take their place, so it was pretty pointless, really.  
  
She lay down on her window ledge and buried her face in her pale arms. Her small shoulders trembled with her sobs, causing her long brown hair to fall down around her face like a dark veil. She didn't care, though.  
  
Suddenly she heard the door to her bedroom creak open. She didn't even bother to look up, though, because she knew perfectly well who would be there. She cursed mentally and closed her eyes, hoping that Seto would think that she had cried herself to sleep and leave her alone with her misery. She wasn't that lucky.  
  
"Aisling? I know you're awake. Please, look at me, we need to talk," Seto said softly.  
  
Aisling didn't bother to dignify his statement with an answer. She didn't even move from her current position, hoping that he would just take the hint and go away. Of course, this did not exactly work, considering the fact that Seto could be just as stubborn as Aisling herself could be when he wanted to.  
  
"Aisling, look at me. You're starting to worry me now," Seto spoke again, his tone firm but not unkind.  
  
With an exasperated sigh, she turned to face him. She knew if she continued to ignore him, he would just stay there until she acknowledged his presence, so she just gave up, not even bothering to try to hide her tears from him.  
  
Distractedly, she noticed that Mokuba hadn't come in with Seto. It was probably better that he wasn't in the room, though. Their litte brother didn't need to find out about what had transpired on the airship earlier that night.  
  
"I should have known you wouldn't listen to me, Seto. You never do. I told you I fucking wanted to be left alone, damn it!" she snapped angrily.   
  
"Aisling, listen..." Seto started, before she cut him off midsentence.  
  
"No! *You* listen to me, Seto Kaiba! You thihk that just because you've been here longer than I have, that you can just walk all over me! Well, I can't take it anymore! I've been through enough fucking shit already without you trying to make me feel like I'm not wanted around here! I never even got to know our dad, Seto! I was stuck with mom, and she hated me, Seto! She fucking hated me! You don't know half the shit that she put me through, or that I had to deal with when Marik kidnapped me!" she screamed at him.  
  
Her tears were flowing uncontrollably now, and her sapphire eyes were haunted and filled with an intense pain that hit Seto like a ton of bricks. Aisling sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She rested her head against the window, never once averting her gaze from her brother's.  
  
"She used to beat the crap out of me, Seto. Especially if she had a bad day. I was the one that she took everything out on. She blamed me for the divorce, and made it quite clear that I was nothing more than a burden to her. I was eight when she died. I couldn't even bring myself to cry for her. When I found you and Mokuba and met the others, I thought that, just maybe, I could finally have a chance to be happy," she continued, her voice quieter now.  
  
"Aisling..." Seto started, but again, she interrupted him.  
  
"Please, don't speak yet. Just let me finish, I need to get this out."  
  
Seto nodded, and as he watched her, he couldn't help but think that she looked like a child almost, a frail ghost of the insecure little girl that he had known before they were torn apart so long ago. He vividly remembered all the nights that they had hidden together in the shadows as their parents had fought, loudly and viciously.  
  
Objects and insults had been flung almost non-stop, and by the time that the Hell-storms had ended, all that was left was a nearly destroyed room, and two lonely, frightened spirits weeping in the darkness, completely unnoticed as they clung to each other. And almost every time it had started, the two would slip out of their room and hide in the shadows together to watch as their world was slowly torn apart, helpless to do anything to stop it from happening.  
  
Aisling would start to cry, and Seto would hug her close, as if he was trying to shield her from everything that had gone on just below their darkened vantage point. Seto would try to calm her, telling her that it would all be over soon, and that everything would be all right again. Both of them had known even then that things would never be 'all right', but it was an illusion that they had more than welcomed.  
  
To Be Continued. Okay, please nobody flame me for this, and to clear up any confusion in this chappie, or the next one, a few months before this, Aisling is captured by Marik, and let's just say it's not pretty what he does to her. I know in the anime that Seto and Mokuba ended up in an orphanage, but I'm changing things here. The next chapter is just a flashback to a memory of when he and Aisling were little, before Mokuba was born. Any constructive criticism/suggestions are welcome, but mindless flames will be either ignored or ridiculed at whoever's expense. So if you have nothing more than "this sucks!" or something like that to say, get lost. But if anyone wants to offer suggestions or compliments, then ignore my rant here. I'm just very touchy about my writing. Well, R&R onegai? *Sad puppy eyes* Ja ne, all!  
  
~*Aisling Kaiba*~ 


	2. Images Of The Past

Losing Grip  
  
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba  
  
(Aisling): WOO-HOO! I'm actually getting to update something!!!!  
  
(Seto): Don't tell me people actually like this MMMMPPPHHH!!!! *Has duct tape over his mouth to shut him up*  
  
(Aisling): Oh, shut up, big brother. Besides, me and Ryou are the ones who get the worst end of it in this whole thing, so I don't see why you're complaining.  
  
(Seto): MMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
(Malik): Aisling-chan? When do I get to be in this?  
  
(Aisling): You're in the third part, Malik-kun.  
  
(Malik): *Pouts cutely*   
  
(Aisling): Must...resist...cuteness...aw, damn. Come here. *Hugs him*  
  
(Malik): *Glomps me*  
  
(Aisling): ACK! Can't...breathe....Malik...get...off!!!!  
  
(Malik): *Gets off and again starts petting my hair* Nice kitty...  
  
(Aisling): Umm, one, can you please stop that? Remember what happened last time you did that? And two, do I remind everyone of a cat around here?   
  
(Bluefire): Apparently so.  
  
(Aisling): Help? Before Ryou comes over here and I have to break up another argument?  
  
(Ryou): MALIK ISHTAR!!!!!!!!  
  
(Aisling): Aww, crap. Nevermind.  
  
(Malik): EEP!!!! *Backs away*  
  
(Aisling): Oh, boy, here we go again. Fighting bishies. Okay you two, calm down. Malik, like I said before, you're like a brother to me, but that's it. Ryou, you know I'm yours, so...yah.  
  
(Ryou): *Glomps me* My angel-cat. Not yours, Malik.  
  
(Aisling): Okay, I think you've been around Kura too long. Not that I'm complaining, but you being possessive is a little scary. Kind of like when you tried to strangle the guy behind the desk at that hotel in Tokyo.  
  
(Ryou): You aren't going to let me live that one down, are you?  
  
(Aisling): Nope, but hey, it was funny. (A/N: If anyone wants to know the whole bit behind that, just ask in a review and I'll try to explain it as best I can, but it's kind of an inside joke, so...yah.) Anyway, can someone please do the disclaimer for me?  
  
Mokuba: Sure. My big sister does not own YGO, but any original chars. and the Millennium Star are hers.  
  
Me: Arigatou, big brother. And now, on with the fic. I have to go make sure Marik and Kura haven't destroyed the mansion yet.  
  
***********************************  
  
*Chapter two*  
  
(A/N: This is a flashback to when Aisling and Seto are 5, and Mokuba hasn't come into the picture yet.)  
  
**Flashback**  
  
The fighting was starting all over again. Five-year-old Seto Kaiba sighed as he stared up at the ceiling of his and his sister's shared bedroom. (A/N: Get your minds out of the gutters, ppl.)  
  
Suddenly he heard a frightened whimper coming from the girl as something could be heard shattering against the living room wall downstairs. He looked over at her and saw her huddled on her bed, clutching a white teddy bear that was nearly half her size close to her chest. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and scared, lonely tears streamed down her face as her shoulders trembled with her sobs.  
  
Throwing back his own blankets, he sat up, watching her. Aisling noticed his gaze on her, and glanced over at her brother. She sniffled once, forlornly, then she jumped up and ran over to him, curling up next to Seto and letting him hug her as she cried.  
  
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay, please don't cry," Seto whispered so that their parents wouldn't know that they were still awake.   
  
Aisling looked up at Seto, her dark, sapphire blue eyes shimmering with tears. "Seto, I'm scared. What's gonna happen to us?" she asked fearfully.  
  
Seto just shook his head, trying to hold back his own tears. He really didn't know what to say to Aisling's heartbroken question. But he refused to let himself cry in front of her. No, he would try his best to be strong for her sake.  
  
Just then, they both jumped as they heard the front door being slammed shut. The yelling had stopped, startling to two siblings. Seto and Aisling glanced over at their door, then back at each other. Aisling's eyes had gone very wide, her expression mirrored on her brother's face.  
  
Aisling moved to hide her face in her brother's shirt again, but Seto let go of the small girl and gestured for her to go back to bed. She looked like she was going to protest, but Seto nodded as if to reassure her. Her shoulders slumped, and she reluctantly stood up, glancing back at Seto.  
  
"It's okay. Just pretend to be asleep until mom leaves, okay?" Seto said quietly, knowing their mother would come in to see if they were awakened by the fighting. She always did.  
  
Aisling nodded, feeling a little bit better, although not by much, and wandered back over to her side of the room. She curled up under her blankets, shifting so that she was laying on her side, facing the wall, and let her eyes drift closed. Seto did the same just before their bedroom door opened slightly.   
  
Dim light from the hallway shone into the room, illuminating the 'sleeping' faces of the two twins. A young woman, who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties with warm gray eyes and long brown hair, peered into the room, relieved to see that the fighting had not awoken them. She smiled sadly, shaking her head, then left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.  
  
As soon as the door was shut and Seto was sure that their mother was out of hearing range, he stood up and walked over to where Aisling was. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently to let her know that the coast was clear, but he got no response from her.  
  
It was then that he realized that she wasn't feigning sleep. He smiled sadly and ruffled her hair.   
  
"I'll always take care of you, Aisling. It's just you and me, now," he whispered, before turning around and going back to bed.  
  
**End Flashback**  
  
To Be Continued.   
  
Gomen nasai that this is so short. I swear, my rant at the start of this is longer than this chapter. Well, anyway, I hope you like it. It's just a sad little memory from when Aisling and Seto were little. And to clear up some confusion here, their mother was a very sweet woman, but she became cold and bitter after the divorce, which happened a few months after Mokuba was born. So that kind of explains why Aisling said that she really only remembers her mother acting like she hated her. Anyway, please R&R!!! Any flames will be used on the deranged pony or dice-boy and his groupies. (Sorry to anyone who likes them, but my friend and I find them really annoying). So...yah. Well, ja ne all!!!!! Laters!  
  
~*Aisling Kaiba*~ 


	3. Don't Leave Me, Ryou!

Losing Grip:  
  
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba  
  
Aisling: I'm back with part 3 of this! Yay!! People are gonna kill me.  
  
Ryou: *Reads said chapter and looks like he's gonna cry* Aisling, how could you do that to me? I thought you loved me? Now you try to---  
  
Aisling: *Claps a hand over his mouth* Shh! You're going to spoil it! Besides, this is only temporary anyway, it's gonna have a really happy ending. And yes, I do still love you, Ryou. *Realizes she's said too much* Crud. Anyway, can someone please do the disclaimer for me? *Looks around and spots Rishid trying to sneak past her unnoticed* Oh, Rishi!!!! Can you come here and do me a favor? Pretty please?  
  
Rishid: *Sighs* Of course. Lady Aisling does not own YGO, nor does she own the song "There You Are", Martina McBride does, but anything original is hers.  
  
Aisling: Thanks mucho! Now, on with the fic! Merry Christmas, minna-san! *Walks away with Ryou, muttering about how people are going to kill her when they read this part*  
  
************************************  
  
*Chapter three*  
  
Seto shook his head to banish the memories and sat down on the window ledge next to Aisling. She flinched at his closeneess, but said nothing about it. Instead, she picked up a small, white stuffed dog with a red and gold bow around its neck and held it close to her. (A/N: I actually have one like that. My sweetie gave it to me on Valentine's Day two years ago. *Glomps him* )  
  
Seto recognized it as the one that Ryou had won for her at the summer festival just before the Battle City tournament and reached over to lay his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, as if she wanted to shrug off the gesture, but it occurred to her that she didn't have the strength left in her to do it, so she settled for letting him try to comfort her as she continued with her heartbroken tale.  
  
"I haven't ever told you what Marik did to me. Seto, he...he raped me," she whispered, her dark blue eyes downcast and haunted now.  
  
Seto stared at her in shock, then he reached over and hugged her. He held her close to him, swaying back and forth slightly as Aisling buried her face in his chest, crying harder now. (A/N: Again, people, there's the gutter, get your mind out of it.)  
  
"Shh, shh. It's all right. Let it out, I'm here. You're safe now. I won't let that sick bastard near you again," Seto murmured.  
  
"He wants your Egyptian God card, Seto. He threatened to hurt you, Mokuba and Ryou if I didn't cooperate with him. If Malik hadn't gotten me out of there when he did, I'd probably have been dead by now. I could have lost you, big brother. Now I'm probably going to lose Ryou," she said through her tears, finally looking up at her brother. "I'm scared, Seto. Why is this happening to us?"  
  
Seto shook his head sadly, not really knowing what to say to that. He wiped away her tears, then he stood up, gently pulling her up with him. Aisling stared up at him, confused.   
  
"Big brother?" she asked.  
  
"Mokuba and I are going down to the hospital to see Ryou. I thought maybe you'd want to go with us," Seto replied.  
  
She nodded. "I was there earlier, but...I ran away. It tore me apart to see him like that," Aisling said softly.  
  
Seto nodded understandingly. "But it's hurting you even more to be away from him," he finished her sentence. It was more of a statement than a question, really.  
  
Aisling nodded. "Hai. I can't lose him, Seto. I can't. I love him too much to let him go," she said, the tremble in her voice giving light to her pain and desperation.  
  
"Maybe you can help by just being there with him. I have a feeling that he'll pull through. Just watch, it'll all be all right. You'll see," Seto reassured her.  
  
Just then, the door opened again and Mokuba poked his head into the room. He glanced over at Aisling, his head tilted slightly to one side, his gray eyes shimmering with concern as he regarded her in silence for a long moment.  
  
"Are you okay, Aisling?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, little brother," she answered, giving him a small, half-hearted smile.   
  
"You're going with us, right? Ryou needs you," Mokuba said.  
  
Aisling nodded. "I know. We'll be right there. Go wait for us downstairs, okay, kiddo?" Aisling said quietly.  
  
"Okay," Mokuba said.  
  
Then he turned and walked away, leaving the door open. Aisling watched her little brother leave, then looked down sadly at the stuffed animal in her arms. She stepped back from Seto and moved over to her bed, idly noticing that their gray and white cat, Kitty, was curled up on her pillows, fast asleep.   
  
She lay the stuffed animal in her arms down on the pillow next to Kitty, stroking her fur lovingly. The cat purred contentedly once in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Aisling shook her head at the feline's antic, somehow managing a sad little smile. Then she walked back over to Seto, and they left the room together, leaving the door open just in case Kitty wanted to go out.  
  
When they got downstairs, they found Mokuba sitting on the couch. The television was on, a rerun episode of InuYasha (A/N: I don't own that either.) blaring softly. Aisling noted that it was the one where Kikyo was resurrected, and the sudden idle urge to reach through the screen and whack the raven-haired priestess over the head with her Flying Frying Pan of Doom popped into her mind. She never really had liked her, believing that Kikyo was standing in the way of Kagome and InuYasha ever possibly getting together. (A/N: Sorry, Kikyo fans, but I don't like that woman.) Aisling shook her head, pushing that train of thought out of her mind before it went any farther. She had more important things to worry about right now.  
  
"Come on, Mokuba," Seto said quietly.  
  
"Okay, big brother," Mokuba replied.  
  
He stood up and turned off the television before following his older siblings out the front door. They got into Seto's car, which was a dark midnight-blue Cadillac. (A/N: Don't own that either. *Pout*) Seto waited until the other two were in the car--Aisling in the front passenger's side, and Mokuba in the back--before he pulled out of the driveway.   
  
The drive to the hospital was spent in silence. Aisling stared out the window absently, lost deep in her own thoughts. Seto kept his attention on the road, but he occasionally glanced over at the girl, wishing that he could do something, anything at all, to help.  
  
When they got to the hospital, Seto let Aisling out at the main entrance before going to park the car. Aisling stepped through the glass doors as they opened, ignoring the looks that she got from the people who were sitting there, anxiously awaiting news of their own loved ones.   
  
Aisling managed to hold back her tears until she stepped into a--thankfully--empty elevator. As the doors closed and the elevator began to rise, she buried her face in her hands and started to cry again.  
  
The elevator finally stopped on the fourth floor and the doors opened. She stepped out into the fairly deserted cooridor, making her way towards Ryou's room.  
  
As she passed by the Nurse's station in the I.C.U. ward, an older woman with slightly graying hair and cold brown eyes stood up, as if to stop Aisling from going any farther. But the young doctor behind her put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head almost imperceptibly. He recognized the girl from before, and had noticed the tears that shimmered in Aisling's sapphire eyes as she walked by. The older woman saw that she was crying, too, and sat back down, casting a pitying glance at Aisling.  
  
But the girl took no notice of this, though, as she was completely immersed in her own thoughts. She was only vaguely aware of her surroundings as the door to Ryou's room slid open automatically when she stopped in front of the aforementioned door, granting her entrance.  
  
She slipped silently into the room, very nearly crying out when she saw Ryou, who was still unconscious and paler than normal, looking for all the world like a ghostly angel. Her angel. The eerie, monotonous beeping of a heart monitor broke through the silence, reassuring her that he was still holding on.  
  
She sat down on a chair next to the bed, taking Ryou's hand gently into her own. She reached over with her other hand and lightly brushed away a few stray strands of his snowy-white hair from his eyes. Absently, she noticed Iris and Malik across the room, both asleep, but at the moment, she was paying them no mind.  
  
"Ryou? Ryou, can you hear me? Please, wake up, love. Please, just hold on. We've been through so much lately. It can't end this way, it just can't. You've beaten worse odds than this. I know you can beat the odds again. You're going to be all right, just believe. Please, don't leave me. I love you too much to let you go," Aisling whispered softly through her tears.  
  
But her desperate pleas got no response. Ryou remained motionless and unconscious. Aisling rested her forehead lightly against her koi's, as if she thought that this gesture alone could wake him up and bring him back to her.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened again, startling Aisling. Her whole body tensed like a coiled spring as she sat up quickly and glanced towards the door, ready to defend her fallen love should anyone seek to harm him further. But she relaxed a few moments later when she realized that it was only Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"Easy, little sister. It's just us," Seto replied.  
  
Seto pulled a chair over and sat down next to Aisling, laying a hand on her arm in a gesture of comfort. The gesture was slightly awkward, even for him, but Aisling knew that he meant well.  
  
Mokuba perched himself on the window ledge across the room, watching his older siblings curiously. He had the sudden feeling that there was something more going on here than what he had been told. He didn't ask, though. It most likely wasn't any of his business, anyway. That, and the fact that he did not want to upset Aisling anymore than she obviously already was.  
  
Aisling gave them both a sad little smile before she turned her attention back to Ryou. She rested her forehead against Ryou's again and started to sing quietly, her melodious voice seeming to have a calming effect on the others in the room as she remembered the song that she and Ryou had slow-danced to at the summer festival, in the hopes that it might bring out even the slightest spark of life in him.  
  
There you are  
  
In the early light of day  
  
There you are  
  
In the quiet words I pray  
  
I've been blessed  
  
By the simple happiness   
  
Of the perfect love we've made  
  
Every time I turn around  
  
When I'm lost and when I'm found  
  
Like an angel standing guard  
  
There you are  
  
Every time I take a breath  
  
And when I forget to breathe  
  
You're watching over me  
  
There you are  
  
When I'm looking for the light  
  
In the middle of the night  
  
Searching for the brightest star  
  
There you are  
  
There you are  
  
Standing in a crowded room  
  
There you are  
  
The earth and I'm the moon  
  
My desire  
  
Is to stand by the fire  
  
That burns inside of you  
  
Every time I turn around  
  
When I'm lost and when I'm found  
  
Like an angel standing guard  
  
There you are  
  
Every time I take a breath  
  
And when I forget to breathe  
  
You're watching over me  
  
There you are  
  
When I'm looking for the light  
  
In the middle of the night  
  
Searching for the brightest star  
  
There you are  
  
She paused for a brief moment, lifting her head long enough to kiss Ryou softly, her lips barely brushing against his. Then she lay her forehead against his again and continued her haunting song.  
  
When I'm looking for the light  
  
In the middle of the night  
  
Searching for the brightest star  
  
There you are  
  
There you are  
  
There you are.  
  
As she ended her song, she had to blink back icy tears. She had been hoping desperately to get some kind of response from Ryou, but there was to be no such luck. He remained unconscious.   
  
"Ryou," she whispered.  
  
"Big brother, what's going on?" Mokuba asked from his spot across the room.  
  
Before Seto could speak, though, a shrill, screeching sound filled the room. Iris and Malik both jolted awake, looking around in confusion. Aisling gasped and risked a glance up at the heart monitor above Ryou's bed, and a horrified, mournful cry escaped her when she saw that it had flat-lined. Her beloved had left her.  
  
Ryou Bakura was dead.  
  
**************************  
  
To Be Continued...*ducks sharp, pointy objects thrown at her* Okay, please do *not* flame me for this, I promise, it's not permanent. I don't have the heart to do that. Please don't kill me? I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say an unexpected visitor shows up next chapter, and you'll never guess who it is. Anyone who does gets pocky and Ryou and Bakura plushies, or any other character plushie you want. And don't worry, Ryou's not going to stay gone, I promise. *Apologizes to said bishie profusely, glomping him* He's too sweet and adorable to stay gone. I know, I put him through too much, but it's gonna work out. *Realizes I'm on the verge of saying too much* Anywho, I know it's been forever since I've updated this, and I apologize. I've been busy and I was banned from the comp for 2 weeks b/c my stupid environmental tech teacher stuck her pointy nose in where it didn't belong. *Gives her my demon glare* GRRR!!!! I can't *stand* that woman! Okay, sorry, I needed to get that out of my system. I actually scared the crap out of someone once with that look. *Cackles evilly* Served her right, though. Anyways, merry Christmas, *and yes, I realize it'll be past Christmas by the time this comes up on my thing* and happy new year!! Ja ne, minna-san! 


End file.
